'Robbed': Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton fans fume after VAR shockers cost crucial wins in Premier League
Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton dealt with VAR shockers during their Premier League draws over the weekend, sparking fans of the clubs to fume over being 'robbed' of crucial wins.
FollowChelsea, Arsenal and Brighton fans remain furious over the VAR shockers their teams endured during Saturday's Premier League clashes against West Ham, Brentford and Crystal Palace respectively. While the Blues were not awarded a spot kick against West Ham when Tomas Soucek blatantly handled the ball inside the penalty area, the Gunners were left fuming after VAR granted an offside goal to Brenforts that could affect their title race. Meanwhile, Brighton had a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside because of human error by the video assistant referee operator in their draw at Selhurst Park.
During the West Ham vs Chelsea clash, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Soucek handled an effort from Conor Gallagher in the 89th minute leading to several Blues' stars begging referee Craig Pawson for a penalty. The on-field referee dismissed claims while a short VAR check backed up the original call. Many supporters were perplexed and wondered why a spot kick wasn't awarded. Reports claim that Soucek's hand was breaking his fall to the ground, so a penalty was not granted to Chelsea.
Meanwhile, during Arsenal's 1-1 draw against Brentford at the Emirates, video referee Lee Mason reportedly forgot to draw offside lines on Ivan Toney's controversial equaliser in a mistake that could impact Mikel Arteta and Co's fight for the title. If the VAR lines had been drawn, Christian Norgaard would have been in an offside position when he crossed for Ivan Toney, and the goal would have been disallowed.
During Brighton's 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace, Pervis Estupinan looked to have put the Seagulls in front in the first half. VAR John Brooks intervened and ruled that the Ecuador defender was offside when he received Pascal Gross' pass. The offside line, however, should have been drawn from Marc Guehi, a Palace defender who was just behind James Tomkins. Brighton's left-back would have been onside if the line had been drawn from Guehi, and the goal would have stood.
Reacting to the VAR shocker during Chelsea's draw against West Ham, manager Graham Potter sarcastically stated, "It was a good save. You need your goalkeeper sometimes to give you the points. It looks like one of those that, if it was given, it wouldn't have been overturned. But obviously it wasn't given. It looked quite a handball and, like I said, I didn't know Tomas could get down so easily and save like that. It's a good stop from him."
Meanwhile, a furious Arteta said, "I just looked back and it is offside. Have they explained why it wasn't allowed? No. It is frustrating, but they will probably give an explanation later in the week. Today we haven't got one."
The three incidents have sent Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton fans into a tizzy, with most taking to Twitter to claim that they were robbed of their victories.Â
"That Soucek handball is up there in terms of ridiculous VAR decisions, the scariest thing is it took them 5 seconds to decide it wasn't a handball, so so poor," noted one Chelsea supporter on the micro-blogging site.
An Arsenal fan stated, "@premierleague @EnglandFootball what is the use of VAR? When title leaders @Arsenal are robbed by a Clear Offside @BrentfordFC. Why weren't the lines checked for this passage of play. The equaliser shud never stand."
"I’m trying to look at the Lee Mason ‘forgetting to draw VAR’ lines objectively without my Arsenal hat on. But for anyone, in any high profile job, how is that not a top tier offence? The same happened today for Palace v Brighton in a derby," said another Arsenal supporter.
Meanwhile, a Brighton fan noted, "We need VAR to check VAR. Another team who review the work of Stockley Park to see if they've made a total fuck up. And if the VAR team who check the VAR team make a mistake, let's have another VAR team for the VAR team who check the original VAR team. Only way to end the madness."
Here's a look at how Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton supporters reacted to the VAR howlers during Saturday's Premier League matches:
